Illinois’ State Expenditures: Current Condition and Future Concerns
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Examines Illinois state spending and concerns for future fiscal conditions.
Research & Publications
Papers, policy reports, and the materials behind them.
My research spans public finance, property taxation, flood risk, and government data. Reports and manuscripts are grouped by type below; project pages describe my contributions and link to replication materials.
Policy reports & research papers
Current Condition and Future Concerns for Growth in Illinois’ State Revenue
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Examines the condition and growth prospects of Illinois state revenue.
The Current and Future Use of Incentives in Cook County
Cook County Property Tax Reform Group
Research on commercial and industrial property-tax incentives.
The State of Illinois’ FY 2024 Fiscal Situation: A Solid Performance but Threats Remain
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
An assessment of Illinois fiscal performance and continuing risks.
Finding the Balance: State Fiscal Sustainability and Local Government Challenges
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Extended Analysis of Selected Benefits and Costs
Government Finance Research Center
Working from Home in Illinois: Who Can and Does?
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Research on the capacity for remote work and observed work-from-home patterns.
Current and Future Use of Homestead Exemptions
Government Finance Research Center
What Happened to Illinois’ Open Data Movement
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Recovering from COVID (Spending) Fever
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Fiscal Futures 2021: Maintaining Fiscal Sustainability After an Influx of Federal Funds
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Why Does Illinois’ Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Have a Large Deficit?
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
Submitted manuscripts
The Push-and-Pull of Property Tax Relief: Who Pays for Exemptions and Incentives?
Urban Affairs Review
Revised and resubmitted; under review
Working papers
Measuring Local Government Levies’ Responsiveness to the Property Tax Base
Working research
Dissertation
Risk Perception and Real Estate Values in Cook County, Illinois
Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois Chicago
Presentations
Upcoming
- November 2026 · National Tax Association, Philadelphia. Risk Perception and Real Estate Values in Cook County, Illinois. Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba. Scheduled presentation.
- November 2026 · National Tax Association, Philadelphia. Measuring Local Government Levies’ Responsiveness to the Property Tax Base. David Merriman and Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba. Scheduled presentation.
- September 25, 2026 · Association for Budgeting & Financial Management, Washington, DC. Measuring Local Government Levies’ Responsiveness to the Property Tax Base. David Merriman and Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba. Scheduled presentation.
Completed
- June 10–12, 2026 · Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, Chicago. Measuring Local Government Levies’ Responsiveness to the Property Tax Base. David Merriman, Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba, and Michael Van Hulle.
- November 2025 · North American Regional Science Council, Denver. The Push-and-Pull of Property Tax Relief: Who Pays for Exemptions and Incentives? Joshua Drucker, Rachel Weber, Michael Van Hulle, and Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba.
- November 2024 · National Tax Association, Detroit. Measuring Local Government Levies’ Responsiveness to the Property Tax Base. Michael P. Van Hulle, Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba, and David Merriman.
- October 2024 · Association for Budgeting & Financial Management, Cleveland. The Distributional Politics of Fragmented Incentives: When Economic Development Turns Fiscal. Michael P. Van Hulle, Alea Wilbur-Mujtaba, and David Merriman.
Data & replication materials
Research outputs also include datasets, documentation, and maintained replication websites. Explore the project pages for these resources and archived releases.
Publication and presentation statuses updated September 2026.